Dead fish set off pollution alarm in Valankulam lake

TNN | Updated: Jul 24, 2018, 23:44 IST

Coimbatore: As denizens, including environmentalists, celebrate water from Noyyal river enriching the city’s water bodies, several dead fish were found floating in Valankulam lake on Tuesday. Local fishermen had noticed the alarmingly sight on Tuesday morning. It was only after they began circulating pictures on social media did authorities get wind of it. A closer inspection revealed them to be mostly catla. Officials who reached the spot said they could not give a probable cause until they test the fish and water in the lake. “This has happened before. It could be due to any reason. We have collected water samples and the fisheries department will test the fish. The cause will be revealed only after lab tests,” a public works department official said. Environmentalists say mass fish deaths have happened in Singanallur and Sulur lakes in the last seven years. “Then also, the officials failed to find out the cause,” environmentalist Mohan Raj told TOI.

They suspect water contamination with highly toxic sewage to be the reason. “It has been just two weeks since fresh water from the Noyyal began flowing into the lakes,” said Syed of NGO Osai. “According to the marine biologists we contacted, the cause of the death can not be fresh water. The water in the lake must be contamination by a highly poisonous substance. City sewage has such substances,” he said. The latest incident is another stark reminder of the fact that the majority of the city’s sewage is being let into water conservation tanks instead of being treated, environmentalists said. “It is time the city corporation and government departments work to treat sewage and stop its from entering lakes,” Syed added.